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User blog:RoadstoJudah/How to Write Dialogue: Another Long Piece (Harder)
This is and old blog post about dialogue. I figured I'd import it here. I'll revise it eventually. This might become a morning thing now, if the admins are alright with it. I usually have a nice big glass of coffee and lots to talk about, so why not? I was gonna tackle criticism yesterday, but that would've started an enormous storm of unyielding chaos that I did not ''feel like dealing with. So, today, we'll be talking about what I consider the best part (and maybe the only thing I really appreciate) about my writing. Dialogue. Dialogue's a little hard to write sometimes because depending on the character, setting, and age, everyone can sound so different. There's a few tricks I use that make it kinda easy, and I'll go over them. To be honest, this can be used outside of ROBLOXiwood, as it's more of a writing thing in general, but I think it'd be cool to use it in our films. If you decide to use it outside of ROBLOXiwood, I would reccomend this as well. It's a general guide, not just for ROBLOXiwood, but keep note that some things here will be more useful if you're not using voice acting. Imperfections Alright, let's say we have a Mike Hike film. Mike Hike's old, like, 2009 old. So, when Mike comes on screen, this is how a conversation goes: ''"Hey, Clay! What are you doing?" "Oh, nothing." "Dude, let's train!" That is absolutely awful. Why? They talk way too perfect. People don't talk like robots. Pay attention, when people speak, they stutter, they drop "um"s, "and"s, "uh"s, and more. For example, in my a cancelled film, the main character Evelyn catches an eye for another girl, Mallorie. If you asked her what she thought of her, she'd say something like this: "Well, I mean- she's kinda, well. She's alright, I guess." '' See? Read it aloud. She's nervous, and it's easy to tell. Very different from ''"she's cute." If she just simply stated that, and every character did the same, the story would be over in a matter of 25 minutes. There'd be no contemplation, no pauses, no development, no nothing. So, what should that Mike Hike conversation really sound like? "Yo, Clay! What's up, man?" "Ah, nothing, really." "Just sitting around?" "I mean, yeah-" "Dude. We have to train." A lot more realistic and it brings out the characters more, just those little words. Just make sure you don't overuse them, because then it's cluttered, annoying, and evident you're trying way too hard. Catchpharses Whenever someone tells me something new, or teaches me something, I usually say "that makes sense." I also say "or something along those lines" from time to time. In fact, you probably know someone who goes "okay, thanks" at the end of a sentence when they think they're being snarky. You probably have your own little phrases too; everybody does. These, obviously, are catchphrases. I think it's best to use these on characters when we've really got to know them. Annabelle shows affection with "You're a dork". When Noak's been told something, he thinks, and says "Right." At the end of a cheeky sentence, Xavier goes "yeah?" For example, picking up off of Xavier, when he's explaining his powers, the scene goes something like this (this is the censored version): NOAK What in the world was that? XAVIER Echokinesis! Or sonokinesis. Something like that. I get my powers from sound waves, yeah? This is especially useful because most of us don't have voice acting. When you have these little phrases, it makes people give the character their own little voice, almost. Not only that, but it gives a vibe to the character. You can tell Xavier's a bit of a goofy type from that one line. And Noak's short and sober "Right." shows a lot about his character because of when he says it and how he says it, along with the expression on his face when he says it. Noak always wears a pensive visage when he says "Right", just as Annabelle bears a loving one with "You're a dork" and Xavier a cheeky turd-eating grin. Sentence Structure If you've seen a Rescind trailer, you know how the archangels speak. Just a random example, let's say I wanted one to say, in a threatening manner, "stop fighting each other!", I'd go with something like: MICHAEL Hail! This is no place for such belligerence; if there need be solace, it would be mine, and it would be swift. Just a rough example, I'd probably edit that. For formal characters, I like to put the verb before the noun. "I needn't do that." A lot of Archangel's dialogue is like this. But, lets say I wanted Hyperblue to say that instead. It'd be this: HYPERBLUE Hey, chill! profanities here?! more profanities here. Obviously you'd have to be imaginative with Hyperblue's on the wikia, but you get the idea. They don't talk similar at all, do they? The use of contractions -- or lack thereof -- can make all the difference in how a character is seen. Especially with words like ain't. ''Take this example, this character would be rather formal: ''I'm afraid I can't do that. Now, let's compare it to someone who'd more likely be from White Crows: You ain't doing all that in here -- what's gotten into you, boy?! A completely different character, but same message. Different words, like ain't, boy, yo, man, dude, ''and more convey a more lax attitude. Hopefully you got that reference by the way. Avoiding Sensory Overload Let's say you've taken all of this advice. Great. But what makes good writing good isn't an idea, it isn't length, it isn't even ''effort, ''it's ''execution. ''So, with that in mind, let's do what we did originally and compare two peices of dialogue. ''W-what... what d'ya mean...? I-I'm... I'm lost... Now, take this. What's wrong with this dialogue? It seems to follow everything I suggested -- imperfections, and the sentence structure gives you an idea of what the character is like. Well, it's still terrible. The problem here is that the dialogue overuses ''my tips. It overuses perfections, pauses, and a number of different things. So, how do we fix this? ''What?! What... what d'you mean? No, no, that can't be possible. That's much better. Notice how the sentence still flows? How it still sounds like someone is talking? That's the goal. If you bombard your reader with dialogue that is constantly broken and with god awful sentence structure, then you learn that people don't talk like that either. ''While there are imperfections in how people speak, the imperfections don't make them ''unintelligble. '' Try saying that line at the top out loud, pauses, imperfectons, and all. It's a mouthful, isn't? Now, the second line, you can still say it. The character repeats "no" twice; an imperfection. The character says "d'you", establishing this is a casual character. We have imperfections and a different sentence structure without overloading the reader with psuedo-emotion. 'Do not 'use these tricks for ''every ''line of dialogue. 'Do not do it. 'Your script and your characters will become unintelligible, stuttering idiots. Every character will have a speech impediment. These tips and tricks should only be used to bring out a character or in scenes of high emotion. Let's try another example. This character is experiencing disbelief: ''I... I can't believe... t-this is... o-oh... oh my God. Not good! Not good at all. Let's fix that up real quick. No, no- you can't be serious. No, no! Here, the character's shock turns to exasperation. Good! ''The goal of dialogue is to bring a character to life. Don't make him a robot, and don't make him unintelligible. Make him real. People's thoughts spiral out of control often, so don't be afraid to have characters change their tone in dialogue. But again, 'don't overdo it. 'Again, read your dialogue out loud. Get into that character. I don't care how ridiculous you sound. Personally, when I'm reading David's dialogue, I speak with a formal, sober, but slightly European/Middle Eastern accent. I sound stupid, but it keeps the dialogue fitting. They're People, Not Characters This overlaps in my characters forum post, but this specifically applies to using dialogue. Ultimately, you must, must, must remmeber that you're writing a ''person, ''not a character. Sure, he ''is ''actually a character, but don't treat him like that. Make them real poeple. Give them their own phrases, mannerisms, and thoughts. Another example? ''Yeah... I just... I dunno. Everything so confusing. So... I dunno. So bland. So stagnant. You can tell, very easily that this character is sad. This character is obviously complaining about life -- his life -- and feels the need to vent. Is this how your character would react? Yes? Alright. Good. That should be the only ''character to react like that. How many people do you know that say the exact same thing when they're upset? I know that I curse vehemently when angry - usually into the air, saying nothing of importance. Endpoint goes quiet when he's angry. Supersilverchaos rants and raves, arguing with seemingly nobody. And AlmightyNoob? Well, he usually goes on a rant about how he can't comprehend the stupidity of this or that. So, if real people don't say the same thing, why would your characters? Sure, there can be an overlap, but never exactly the same. So, how about we get to the same line of dialogue, but from a completely different character, yeah? ''I dun' even profane know no more. Man, profanities this stupid profanities here., bro. I'm sick of it. You'd have to use your imagination, again, but you get the idea. Two completely ''different characters, but both are dejected. You see how they've got different reactions? The first takes up a pensive, despondent state - he's thoughtful. Very much so. But the other is full of rage and angst; he hates the world. The situation he's in. He just starts shooting complaints, straight off the dome -- this is contrary to how the other character starts to reflect his situation. Different people react different ways. And if characters = people... well you get the idea. People Do Things Because People Do Things ''People do things because people do things. ''This is more useful when it comes to character actions, but it applies in dialogue too. This is something you might want to wait to do- it can be hard to do right. Ever picked up phrases from your friends over time? I know AlmightyNoob got me making suicide jokes ''a lot ''more often. For those who have seen Annabelle, notice how Wyden picks up phrase Annabelle says? Like ''"you're a dork?" '' People will inevitably start to pick up on jokes, sayings, and phrases. This is especially useful if you have a small group of people -- one that's supposed to be closely intertwined. Close friends pick up on other things close friends do. If one gets depressed, slowly, so do the others. If one gets cheerful, the rest get cheerful. Remember this while writing your story and dialogue; make your characters ''people! Wyden picks up on "you're a dork" and more. I won't expand on it too much because this is ''the dialogue post, not the character post, but remember; these are ''people, ''not ''fictional characters. ''At least, you should write them as such. It's okay to use archetypes, but never make your character completely that archetype. Again, doing this takes knowing your character ''very very well; ''you have to take into consideration if your character even would act in a manner her best friend is acting. You have to make sure the new dialogue fits the character, and more importantly, is revelant to the situation they're in. Because, unlike real life, everything in writing and movies ''has to happen for a reason. They Bounce Off of Each Other, Not the Plot One of the biggest problem in dialogue writing is that it lacks an idea of how a conversation flows. When you talk to someone, you bounce off what they say. Let's dissect an example: LUCAS Where am I? SCIENTIST You're in the facility. LUCAS The facility? What's that? SCIENTIST A place for lab rats like you. Eugh. Alright, we know what's supposed to happen, right? Well, we've been given no reason to care about what's going to happen. There's nothing intimidating here, and you can tell that it's just some writer trying to let his audience know what's going to happen next. It's evident that the Scientist is here just to explain what The Facility is -- it's fine to have a character like that, but it's way too obvious. Let's say one person is talking to the next, and he wants to get information out of him. In a movie, it's better to jump right to the point, but don't make it so ''to the point that it's robotic. You'd want to do something like: '''JOSH' Hey, you know that folder you had? The red one? NICK Yeah? JOSH Where'd you put it? NICK On the counter, I think? Somewhere around there. There. ''He got information out of him without it looking like that's the only reason he's there. Not only that, but you get a little bit of personality out of Nick and Josh, and you get a laid back vibe in their conversation. In addition, they bounce off of each other. One person says this, resulting in that -- that's how conversations work. So, going back to the first set of lines, here's a better version: '''LUCAS' What..? Where am I? SCIENTIST Oh, you're awake. Welcome home. LUCAS Home..? And here, they bounce off of each other too, but it still gets the info across. Now we've got a sense of mystery. We don't know what exactly is going to happen to Lucas, but we still got the same message across. Much better. So What Does Good Dialogue Look Like? Exactly like a conversation. An example of good dialogue is here: JOSHUA Look who profanity it is, haha! You stimmed tonight? EVELYN Gonna be soon. KENNEDY My pleasure. EVELYN What about you guys? KENNEDY Ain't it obvious? '' ''side note: Kennedy holds up a drink here. EVELYN Well, yeah- I meant everyone else. MAISON Well... I'm a little... y'know. EVELYN Barbs? MAISON Yeah... g- got that stuff. Yeah. You don't have to look up what barbs are if you didn't know. They're depressants. The fact that Evelyn can recognize her behavior so easily also shows that this isn't the first time Maison has experimented with them. And each character has a distinct tone to them; a way of speaking. Evelyn is a outgoing person; she asks everybody the questions. Kennedy has a souther flavor to his speech, Joshua a laid back one. That's what dialogue should do. These characters were just introduced and you've got an idea of what they're like. So, there- we have an example of catchpharses (Look who it is!), sentence structure (Ain't it obvious?), imperfections (Well, yeah- I meant everyone else) and people reacting to Evelyn's arrival in different ways- just as different people react to different things in different ways. In Conclusion Anyways, that's all I got for now. Just make sure of two things: for all of these things you give a character, keep them consistent. Xavier doesn't stop saying ''"yeah?" ''and go to "''yu-huh?" ''randomly in the movie. Also make sure they're easy to read aloud, because ultimately, dialogue is just what someone is saying, so it should ''sound ''like something someone would say. I can't stress it enough: make them human. Not characters. Anyways, Have a Nice Life, everyone. Category:Blog posts